Making Arguments in Academic Contexts
- arguments vary in form and content across fields of practice
- claim and support: an argument should include a claim about a contested issue and and support for the claim in the form of good reasons, examples, expert knowledge, and verbal and visual evidence
- a claim is made in the thesis statement
- most issues worth writing an argument about are disputed by people for reasonable reasons
Choosing A Topic
- pick a contested issue that reasonable people have different opinions about
- pick an issue that you care about
- pick an issue that is limited enough in terms of the amount of research that needs to be done and how many pages it will make to cover the topic thoroughly
Developing a Working Thesis
- a thesis is composed of two parts
- the topic
- your claim about the topic
- the claim is what your paper will support with reasons and evidence
Understanding Multiple Viewpoints
- it is important to understand people who are opposing your position so that you can write a more effective argument
- know what arguments they make to each other and which arguments from the other side they distrust
Considering Your Audience and Aims
- develop an argument: take subject matter into account in great detail
- shape an argument: consider audience and purpose to decide what is relevant and useful
- present an argument: consider style, diction, and tone
- effective writers refine subject matter to fit their audience
Arguing to Inquire
- Rogerian argument: find as much common ground as possible to create a harmonious condition for peaceful debating
Arguing to Persuade
- the classical form of an argument
- introduction: puts the reader in the right frame of mind
- narration: provides background information on the issue
- partition: lists points to be proven or divides points into ones that are agreed on vs. disputed
- confirmation: the proof
- refutation: shows why the other side doesn’t doesn’t hold up
- conclusion: summary
Appealing to Readers
- logos: appeal to reason
- induction: reasoning from experience and examples around us
- deduction: argue from established truths
- syllogism: has a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
- enthymeme (claim): suppresses premises because the audience is more likely to accept them
- ethos: cultivating trust by showing the reader that you are knowledgable of the subject
- pathos: appealing to emotions
Toulmin Method
- arguments proceed from data or grounds that support a claim
- claims are based on warrants that require backing
- qualifiers soften the claim
- rebuttals challenge the claim or invalidate the warrant
Identifying Fallacies
- a fallacy is an error in reasoning
- fallacies of relevance: use of unrelated evidence
- fallacies of ambiguity: use of unclear terms
Conceding and Refuting
- concede: give credence to opposing perspectives
- refute: demonstrate why the opposing view is not correct
English 2089 